Two Afghans arrested in Karzai attack

KABUL, Afghanistan — Authorities have arrested two Afghan government employees for alleged involvement in last week's plot to kill President Hamid Karzai, top officials said Sunday.

But the government maintained that al-Qaida-linked militants based in neighboring Pakistan masterminded the April 27 attack on a military parade in Kabul. Karzai escaped unharmed, but three others were killed.

"Al-Qaida was involved in the attack. That is very clear," intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh said.

Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak identified one of the arrested employees by a single name, Jawed, and said he had worked at a Defense Ministry factory repairing weapons. The suspect allegedly provided two AK-47 assault rifles and a machine gun to the three gunmen.

Wardak identified the second employee as a police nurse, Zalmay.

He declined to give further details about the two men but said the AK-47s were government-issued weapons. Authorities were still trying to determine the source of the machine gun.